Mulligatawny Soup (A Tribute to Eliza Acton, Big Ben & Cross-Cultural Cooking)

In 1845 Eliza Acton published one of the first British cookbooks ever, Modern Cookery for Private Families. It featured one of the earliest recipes for mulligatawny soup, a dish layered with history, deeply spiced and warming, rich with Anglo-Indian influences and shaped by our colonial past. This bowl celebrates Big Ben’s first chime in 1859, the same year Acton passed away. It seems fitting to mark such a momentous occasion with a recipe that honours her lasting contribution to food writing.

Madhur Jaffrey reminds us that mulligatawny’s roots are likely in Tamil Nadu or Sri Lanka, where milagu thanni – meaning “pepper water” – refers to a thin, spicy broth closer to rasam than the British version. Under British colonial rule, the soup evolved to become meatier, thicker, and richer, incorporating curry powder, coconut, chutney and other pantry staples.

This version brings together Acton’s classic style and Jaffrey’s vegetable-rich approach, featuring diced chicken, rabbit or pheasant, caramelised onions, warming curry spices, and root vegetables. Coconut milk adds silkiness, while pickled mango, lemon, and yoghurt provide bright contrast, a hearty dish with a history as rich as its flavour.

Ingredients: 

For the Mulligatawny Soup: 

• 50g ghee, butter or oil
  
• 375g chicken breast, rabbit or pheasant, diced
  
• 4 white onions, thinly sliced
  
• 1 medium carrot, diced
  
• 1 small turnip or kholrabi, diced (optional)
  
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  
• 1 tbsp mild Madras curry powder (or another blend of your choice)
  
• 50g basmati rice, I used brown
  
• 150g red lentils
  
• 1 dried chilli, optional
  
• 1.5 litres chicken stock or water
  
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
  
• 2–3 tbsp pickled mango or mango chutney (from Indian grocers), finely chopped
  
• Juice of 1 lemon or 2 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar
  
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
  
• Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  

For the topping (optional): 

• 6 tsp mixed whole spices (e.g. cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds)
  
• 5 tbsp butter
  
• 6 dried whole chillies
  
• 3 tomatoes, finely diced
  
• Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  

To serve, optional, add to taste: Steamed basmati rice, naan bread, live yoghurt, fresh coriander

Method: 

1. Warm the ghee, butter or oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the meat and onions to the pan with a good pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and golden.
   
2. Add the carrot, turnip or kohlrabi, garlic, curry powder, rice, red lentils and optional chilli and cook for a few minutes to activate the spices whilst stirring. 
   
3. Next add the stock or water and coconut milk, chopped pickled mango or mango chutney and bring to a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes if using chicken or about an hour if using rabbit, making sure the meat is tender.
   
4. Stir through the chopped coriander, lemon juice or vinegar then season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. 
   
5. For the optional topping, heat the ghee or butter in a frying pan. Once hot add the mixed whole spices, whole chillies and diced tomatoes with plenty of sea salt and black pepper. As soon as it bubbles and foams and fills the room with aromatics, spoon it over the soup with a splat of yoghurt and a few fresh coriander leaves. 
   
6. Serve with basmati rice and naan bread if you wish although it’s great just as it is.